Aaron Rodgers and Co. are hoping to stay unbeaten at home against the red-hot Patriots. (Getty)
The Packers are undefeated at home. The Patriots have won seven straight, four of them against division leaders.
The teams are first and second in the league in scoring, with no defenses coming close over the past month to slowing down Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady.
Something’s gotta give when the two teams meet Sunday afternoon in what many are billing as a potential Super Bowl preview. You can follow live updates throughout the game on this post.
Here’s what you need to know:
The Basics
Who:
Patriots at Packers
When:
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. Eastern
Where:
Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin
Channel
CBS
Line:
Packers by 3
Last Meeting:
Patriots 31, Packers 27 on December 19, 2010 in Foxborough, Massachusetts
Preview: Aaron Rodgers & Tom Brady Are Squaring Off for the 1st Time
Tom Brady has led the Patriots to seven straight wins since a disastrous loss at Kansas City. (Getty)
It’s the first meeting between the teams since 2010 and the first between Rodgers and Brady as starters. (Rodgers missed the 2010 game with a concussion, and Matt Flynn started in his place.)
Here’s a look at the teams’ offensive statistical leaders, with Brady and Rodgers leading the way.
Tomorrow will be the 1st meeting between Rodgers & Brady as starters.
@StateFarm infographic: http://t.co/nZDEPzY0ht http://t.co/pnOqsBrp6J
As USA Today’s Lindsay Jones writes, the Brady-Rodgers duel is long overdue.
Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers have both been here before, atop the race to be named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player, while quarterbacking their teams into Super Bowl contention. But they’ve never been here together.
In one of the more that-can’t-really-be-true stats of this NFL season, Brady and Rodgers, three MVP awards and four Super Bowl rings between them, have never even played each other.
Jones talked to former NFL MVP Kurt Warner, now an NFL Network analyst, about the matchup. Here’s what Warner told Jones:
It’s going to be a great match-up, but at the crux of it is these two guys. I have to imagine that in big games, like they normally do, they’ll both play huge. When it comes down to the MVP race, especially these last five games of the year, a big part of it is how do their teams finish? What everyone will remember is what you did at the end. Who makes his mark in a game like this, when they are going head-to-head — does one of these guys shine
Heavy’s Pick
Patriots 41, Packers 38
Both offenses have proven nearly unstoppable over the past month, and both will put up plenty of points. But while New England’s defense has shown signs of marked improvement, Green Bay’s has been shakier. Darrelle Revis and Co. won’t keep the Packers from scoring early and often, but they’ll hold the Pack in check just enough for the Pats to come away with their eighth straight win.